By Debby Looney, gardening expert

Finally the weather has arrived - those lovely sunny days where we can sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits of our labour. The garden furniture is out, parasols are up and the barbecue is lit.

The weeding is done, the grass is cut and the pots are watered. Bored much? Well, if you are like me, and need something to do – especially when the weather is fine - how about a water feature? The sound of water is well-known to be relaxing, so maybe that will be the key to finally sitting down and reading a book!

Apart from its calming qualities, water in the garden is important from an ecological point. You will notice the biodiversity in your garden grow as soon as you add water, and it is uncanny how quickly dragonflies find it! Water features do not need to be a particularly work intensive project, it can be anything from a plastic barrel to a large natural pond. I have seen some beautiful plastic barrels with a floating pot with waterlillies inside it and a floating solar light – small but effective. You can also buy a huge range of ready to use, easy to install water features – you literally fill them up with a few litres of water, plug them in and the job is done.

Alternatively, you can build your own pond, which is quite a straightforward project. Decide on a spot and start digging out your pond – the size will depend on you, the depth should always be at least 40cm. If you wish to grow water lilies, you will need to go a bit deeper. Lining a pond can be done with EPDM rubber if you want to shape it yourself. An old carpet or some insulation underneath will protect the liner from tearing on stones.

A layer of sand will do the trick. There are also preformed liners available which are very practical and easy to install. They are usually stepped which allows you to put in different water plants at the edges. These are definitely the quickest and easiest options. To maintain clarity of water, and to prevent algal growth, it is vital to aerate the water.

The simplest way to do this, without the use of a filtration system, is to create running water. Pumps are readily available and relatively cheap. The smallest usually start at about €40. Pumps are sold in two ways, by the amount of water they pump per hour, and by the lift they give.

A pump which pumps at 450L per hour will usually give a lift of one metre to the water – so you can install a small fountain. Pumps then go up in size, depending on what you need. I have a small pump in my pond, set at half the speed, which circles my water up and around the pond to the opposite, rising gradually to give a fall over stones of about 30cm. This creates a small amount of movement within the pond so that it does not stagnate, it oxygenates as it flows over the stones and it creates that soothing sound of water gently splashing back into the pond. An effort well worth making!